That is, about the employee's obligations towards the employer

In previous articles in this series, we covered the most important issues related to concluding contracts with employers and the commencement of employment. It's time to move on to the issues related to the performance of work itself. The most important aspect in this regard is identifying the obligations arising from the employment relationship for both the employee and the employer.

Is an employee required to absolutely follow orders?

Let's start with the employee. Their primary obligation is, of course, to perform their work. It might seem that there's nothing more to say or write on this topic... Nothing could be further from the truth! It's important to point out that work should be performed conscientiously and diligently . In practice, this doesn't involve any oath or promise of diligence, but rather the type of work required in a given type of relationship (i.e., with due diligence). As for conscientiousness, it refers to the employee performing their work to the best of their ability. Furthermore, it should be noted that this work is performed under the direction of a superior, so the employee is obligated to follow their instructions regarding work . Of course, it's possible to refuse instructions—this applies to situations in which they conflict with legal provisions or the employment contract. However, caution should be exercised when refusing to comply with the employer, as an unjustified refusal can result in disciplinary termination (i.e., without notice).

Can an employer delegate someone to perform other work?

Continuing the theme of work provision, each employee will generally be obligated to perform the duties specified in the type of work they have agreed to perform. However, there are mechanisms that allow employers to "reshuffle" positions. In circumstances justified by the employer's needs, they may assign an employee to work other than that specified in the employment contract for a period not exceeding three months in a calendar year. However, this cannot result in a reduction in salary, and the work to which the employee is assigned should be consistent with the employee's qualifications.

Is conscientious work enough?

In addition to the work itself, the following should be added to the employee's responsibilities:

a. observing working hours established in the workplace;
b. observing work regulations and the established order in the workplace;
c. observing occupational health and safety regulations and principles, as well as fire safety regulations;
d. caring for the good of the workplace, protecting its property, and maintaining the confidentiality of information, the disclosure of which could expose the employer to damage;
e. observing the confidentiality specified in separate regulations;
f. observing the principles of social coexistence in the workplace.

Referring to the above obligations, working time compliance primarily involves adhering to the company's established rules and regulations regarding working hours. Employees are obligated to be punctual, remain at their workstation throughout the working day, only leaving the workplace for breaks agreed upon with the employer (subject to adherence to the break times), and not use working time for personal matters.

Compliance with work regulations and established workplace order is generally related to purely formal matters, such as work organization and order. This will include attendance records, methods for reporting and confirming attendance, justifying absences, and so on. In this regard, it's also important to emphasize the obligation to report to work in a state of health that allows for the commencement of work—and therefore the obligation to remain sober while working (controls in this regard will be the subject of a subsequent article).

While compliance with occupational health and safety and fire regulations and rules requires no further commentary, it is important to outline in more detail what is encompassed by the obligation to care for the well-being of the workplace, protect its property, and maintain the confidentiality of information whose disclosure could harm the employer. Primarily, this obligation encompasses not only refraining from acting to the detriment of the workplace, but also acting in a manner that protects its potential interests (for example, the Supreme Court judgment of October 1, 1998, I PKN 351/98, in which the court ruled that an employee should notify the employer of any acts to their detriment). The list of obligations related to this is very broad – one of them is compliance with doctor's recommendations, which are intended to limit days of absence from work.

As for maintaining the confidentiality of information that may expose the employer to harm, this applies to information the employer itself deems not intended for public disclosure. The list of such information can be very broad. The only condition for this obligation is the potential risk of harm to the employer. It is worth emphasizing that each employee should assess whether specific information, even if not classified by the employer in the catalog of classified information, will not, in a given situation, pose the possibility of harm to the employer. In such a situation, the employee should refrain from disclosing such information.

The final obligation, and perhaps the most fluid, is the obligation to observe the rules of social coexistence in the workplace . Defining its precise boundaries is impossible, but it can be stated that it involves behavior that is consistent with generally accepted principles and norms of conduct. Therefore, one cannot, for example, insult co-workers or create tensions or conflicts. On the other hand, it is pointed out that this obligation includes the obligation to behave in a manner generally accepted in the workplace.

In summing up the above employee obligations, it must be concluded that all of them are somewhat intuitive and natural. However, it is worth remembering them, as violating most of them may qualify as just cause for termination of employment, and in some cases even constitute grounds for disciplinary dismissal.

Regardless of the above, in the next article we will present the obligations that the employer must fulfill, and then we will tell you about the rights that both parties to this relationship have.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

Legal status as of September 21, 2023

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